After narrowing down her selection of future colleges, senior Carmela Pollina and her family make a trip to Kansas University campus to get a feel for the school. 

 Leaving high school and family behind, Pollina feels like it is going to be hard to say goodbye to everyone, and leaving behind her home. Others, like senior Daniel Henre have been building up the independence they need to feel prepared to depart from their families.     

“I spend a lot of time with my family and my siblings are my best friends, so I imagine that this will be a hard transition,” Pollina said. 

Along with leaving high school only 60.5% of seniors feel prepared to leave for college, according to a recent survey of 39 seniors. This number shows that about 40% of students are ready to go to college and according to Pollina, it might have to do with the shock of leaving loved ones. 

“The fact that I am going to college in just a couple of months hasn’t really hit me yet,” Pollina said.

According to Henre, having some experience with being on his own has allowed him to grow in self-sufficiency. This allowed him to practice taking care of himself without his parents home for a couple of days. 

“The initial goodbye to my family will be hard but other than that, I really don’t feel like it will be a huge issue,” Henre said. 

Henre, though not decided on a college yet, has narrowed down his college choices by his desire to be in range for holidays so it will be easier to visit home.

“When deciding on a college after visiting the campus, I just went by the feeling I got from the school,” Pollina said. “I felt that I would get more out of KU, and they had more resources that would help me succeed.”

 Pollina said that she plans on putting herself out there and getting involved in extracurricular activities like lacrosse and tennis. She also has concerns about the adjustment of living with a roommate.

“I am scared to leave my family and friends but more excited to create new relationships in college,” Pollina said.